Related papers: A GNC Architecture for Planetary Rovers with Auton…
The exploration of planetary surfaces is predominately unmanned, calling for a landing vehicle and an autonomous and/or teleoperated rover. Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques can be leveraged for better mission…
In this article, we propose a novel navigation framework that leverages a two layered graph representation of the environment for efficient large-scale exploration, while it integrates a novel uncertainty awareness scheme to handle dynamic…
Current planetary rovers operate at traverse speeds of approximately 10 cm/s, fundamentally limiting exploration efficiency. This work presents integrated AI systems which significantly improve autonomy through three components: (i) the…
This paper presents a novel algorithm, based on model predictive control (MPC), for the optimal guidance of a launch vehicle upper stage. The proposed strategy not only maximizes the performance of the vehicle and its robustness to external…
Autonomous aerial vehicles, such as NASA's Ingenuity, enable rapid planetary surface exploration beyond the reach of ground-based robots. Thus, NASA is studying a Mars Science Helicopter (MSH), an advanced concept capable of performing…
Autonomous terrain classification is an important problem in planetary navigation, whether the goal is to identify scientific sites of interest or to traverse treacherous areas safely. Past Martian rovers have relied on human operators to…
This paper proposes a 2-D autonomous exploration and mapping framework for LiDAR-based SLAM mobile robots, designed to address the major challenges on low-cost platforms, including process instability, map drift, and increased risks of…
Planetary exploration increasingly relies on autonomous robotic systems capable of perceiving, interpreting, and reconstructing their surroundings in the absence of global positioning or real-time communication with Earth. Rovers operating…
Long-distance driving is an important component of planetary surface exploration. Unforeseen events often require human operators to adjust mobility plans, but this approach does not scale and will be insufficient for future missions.…
This paper presents the development of a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) based Autonomous Navigation system. The motivation for this study was to find a solution for navigating interior spaces autonomously. Interior navigation…
This paper presents an integrated lander-propulsion-GNC framework for autonomous lunar powered descent. The BUG VTVL test vehicle serves as the reference platform, with the YUNT V0 throttleable bipropellant engine providing variable thrust…
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) techniques play a key role towards long-term autonomy of mobile robots due to the ability to correct localization errors and produce consistent maps of an environment over time. Contrarily to…
Reliable navigation in unstructured, real-world environments remains a significant challenge for embodied agents, especially when operating across diverse terrains, weather conditions, and sensor configurations. In this paper, we introduce…
We propose a novel visual localization and navigation framework for real-world environments directly integrating observed visual information into the bird-eye-view map. While the renderable neural radiance map (RNR-Map) shows considerable…
Future lunar missions will require autonomous rovers capable of traversing tens of kilometers across challenging terrain while maintaining accurate localization and producing globally consistent maps. However, the absence of global…
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and stochastic technologies into the mobile robot navigation and control (MRNC) framework while adhering to rigorous safety standards presents significant challenges. To address these challenges,…
The Artemis program requires robotic and crewed lunar rovers for resource prospecting and exploitation, construction and maintenance of facilities, and human exploration. These rovers must support navigation for 10s of kilometers (km) from…
The autonomous exploration of environments by multi-robot systems is a critical task with broad applications in rescue missions, exploration endeavors, and beyond. Current approaches often rely on either greedy frontier selection or…
The paper proposes a reliable and robust planning solution to the long range robotic navigation problem in extremely cluttered environments. A two-layer planning architecture is proposed that leverages both the environment map and the…
Active visual SLAM finds a wide array of applications in GNSS-Denied sub-terrain environments and outdoor environments for ground robots. To achieve robust localization and mapping accuracy, it is imperative to incorporate the perception…